This invention relates generally to a device for adapting and joining two pieces of titanium, tantalum, zirconium or stainless steel tubing of different diameters and more particularly to a device which utilizes nontitanium, nontantalum, nonzirconium or nonstainless steel components to accomplish the result.
Fluid handling and carrying operations often require the use of pipes or tubing made of noncontaminative specialty metals, so as to impart to impurities to the fluid being transported. Titanium, tantalum, zirconium or stainless steel are metals which are particularly desirable for transporting a variety of fluids, most notably distilled water. However, these metals are extremely expensive and therefore any coupling method which minimizes the amount of this metal used will result in substantial cost savings. A method and a device suitable for creating joints between pipe and a coupling member are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,943,616 and 3,888,519 respectively. However, such inventions are not practical for joining solid pieces of piping because the aforementioned inventions relate to pipes having only a thin lining of tin, titanium or other specialty metal and they require the peeling back of the outer base-metal jacket of the pipe to expose the inner lining. In the case of solid titanium, tantalum, zirconium, stainless steel pipes or tubings, the stripping back of the outer jacket of the pipe would involve removal of the expensive metal itself.
Another problem encountered in the past was the inability to join a piece of metal tubing to a standard size metal pipe elbow or T. This was so because the usual wide difference in size between the standard pipe fitting and a typical thin-walled tubing would preclude the formation of a tight-fitting, mechanically sound joint. In such a case a special fitting, tailor made for the particular size tubing being joined, would have to be used in order to accomplish the joint.
An adapting and joining arrangement in accordance with the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in a simple and efficient manner. The object of the invention is to provide a means of adapting a section of titanium, tantalum, zirconium or stainless steel tubing to a larger sized titanium, tantalum, zirconium or stainless steel tubing to achieve a leak-tight, mechanically sound and structurally strong joint, while utilizing components in certain non-contaminative areas which are made of materials other than titanium, tantalum, zirconium or stainless steel so as to reduce the cost of the joint.
It is another object of this invention to provide a connection between commonly available standard titanium, tantalum, zirconium or stainless steel pipe joints and a range of variously sized titanium, tantalum, zirconium or stainless steel tubings without having to resort to a specially made, highly expensive adapter made of these metals.